Adventures in Iced Tea

My personal love affair with a Southern staple and five iced tea adventures from around the world available in Red Stick.

Summer is in full swing and it is hot enough to melt the magnolia blossoms from the trees. This means my refrigerator must remain stocked with a pitcher full of iced tea at all times.

One of the first things I noticed when I moved to New York was the lack of iced tea at many restaurants. Some establishments even dared to offer iced tea in a can. To me, this was a sacrilege. It was a rarity that I stumbled into a place and had a server ask the simple, but necessary question, “Sweet or unsweet?” There were absolutely no free refills on iced tea in the Big Apple. My northern boyfriend would turn his nose up at my pitchers of tea and say, “It looks like dishwater.” (That should have been a clue the union was destined to fail.)

Today one of my harder tasks as a wife has been to teach my husband to make more tea after he drinks the last of a pitcher. Prior to his education, which involved me threatening and yelling, he would return the empty pitcher to the refrigerator. I guess he assumed that “magic elves” who lived in the vegetable crisper were going to brew more while he slept. (Of course the elves live in the vegetable crisper. It is like a little forest.)

During my time as a flight attendant, I always felt empathy for my fellow southerners when they traveled and would make first class passengers iced tea when asked. My coworkers often frowned upon these overtures. They said I would spoil passengers and not everyone was going to be that nice. One fellow stew went as far to brand me the title “Debbie Delta,” a slang term for an employee who worked way too hard. One day I realized I was losing my ability to speak fluent Mississippian when a woman with a long drawl kept trying to communicate with me. She kept saying, “I wan’ sum Asti,” which I took to mean Asti Spumante. So I brought her a glass of champagne. She got very angry. This made her enunciate a little better and I was able to understand her as she bleated, “eyes tee.”

My mother is a traditionalist and likes her tea sweeter than hummingbird food and is far too proper to drink it through a straw. She says tea is for sipping and straws are unladylike. I like mine lightly sweetened and served with a lemon wedge.

For those who tire of the standard Southern variety of iced tea, it might be time to take a tea safari of sorts. Here are five different takes on iced tea available from area restaurants, and two recommendations from Red Stick Spice Company.

2. Adult Arnold Palmer at Zea: Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka and freshly squeezed lemonade make this take on the 19th Hole a great way to end a hot summer day. 2380 Towne Center Boulevard, http://www.zearestaurants.com.

4. Bubble Tea at Paradise Smoothie: Tea is infused with fruit juice and served with tapioca pearls at the bottom. A large straw helps the drinker suck up the pearls. It is a light meal and a beverage all in one. 1295 Sherwood Forest Boulevard, (225) 275-9313.

5. Iced Tea at Highland Coffees: Highland Coffees take their teas seriously. Multiple varieties are available daily. Their website even gives patrons tips on how to prepare tea. 3350 Highland Road, http://www.highlandcoffeesbr.com.

For those who want to make a stellar iced tea at home, Anne Milneck of the Red Stick Spice Company has a couple of suggestions. “Black and Rooibos teas are our first choice for icing,” she says. “Greens and Whites are a little tricky. If I had to pick one right now, I'd say our Peach Tea. It's a gorgeous black tea with bits of peach. It's great iced with a little sweetener of choice…I love Stevia.”

But for those wanting to impress, Red Stick Spice carries a caramel black tea. It's Ceylon with little bits of caramel. Milneck recommends brewing the tea and then chilling it. Next put it in a blender with some simple syrup, ice and a little half and half. It makes a great caramel tea granita! 7970 Jefferson Highway, http://www.redstickspice.com.